| Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew | |
|---|---|
| Format | Reality |
| Starring | Dr. Drew Pinsky |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 50 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Drew Pinsky John Irwin Howard Lapides Damian Sullivan Brad Kuhlman |
| Producer(s) | Jack Siefert (Season 1)[1] Duncan White (Season 2) Lisa Digiovine Danita Jones |
| Cinematography | Jeff Rhoads (Season 1)[1] David Ortkiese (Season 1)[1] Stefanos Kafatos (Season 2) |
| Running time | 60 min. (First Episode 90 min.) |
| Production company(s) | Irwin Entertainment, Inc.[2] VH1[2] |
| Distributor | RDF Rights[2] |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | VH1 |
| Original run | January 10, 2008 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | Sober House Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew |
| External links | |
| VH1.com Website | |
Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew is a reality television show airing on the cable network VH1 that chronicles a group of celebrities as they are treated for alcohol and drug addiction by Dr. Drew Pinsky and his staff at the Pasadena Recovery Center in Pasadena, California.[3] The first season premiered on January 10, 2008. Pinsky is listed in the show's onscreen credits as the executive producer.
Contents |
The following are staff of the Pasadena Recovery Center (PRC), where the series is filmed. Casts for individual seasons are seen in sections for those seasons.
According to a December 2009 New York Times article, Drew Pinsky, who was alarmed by tabloid portrayals of addiction as an indulgence of the rich and famous, and a group of independent producers, approached VH1 with a proposal for a reality television series that would authentically depict addiction, as a sort of media intervention.[22]
According to executive producer John Irwin, casting for the first season was the most difficult, as the representatives of the celebrities who had been arrested or had publicized bouts with addiction refused to speak with him and the other producers. The process became easier after the first season aired. Actor Tom Sizemore, for example, who was cast for Season 3, had been sought after since Season 1.[23] Producers have reportedly offered actress Lindsay Lohan six figures to appear on the show.[24] Pinsky, who focuses on the treatment side of the production, is not usually involved with casting,[25] though he reportedly visited Rachel Uchitel personally in order to convince her to join the fourth season cast.[26]
A multitude of cameras are employed, which film twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, during the 21-day treatment cycle. Because some dramatic incidents occur early in the morning when the camera crews are not present, automated cameras are mounted all over the clinic to capture them. The exception to this are the bathrooms, which nonetheless are equipped with microphones to monitor unusual sounds, such as patients attempting to use drugs.[9]
In addition to receiving the free treatment (which would normally be worth approximately $50,000–$60,000 USD), the patients receive a salary for their appearance on the series, which is prorated, and distributed once a week as an incentive to stay.[9]
Celebrity Rehab has spun off two other shows. The first spinoff is Sober House, which depicts Rehab alumni living for 30 days at a sober living facility, as an interim step for recovering addicts between the completion of rehab and their eventual return to their old life.[27] The second spinoff is Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew, in which Pinsky and his staff treat celebrities for sexual addiction.
While Pinsky and the series has won praise from both former addicts and other addiction specialists, many take issue with Pinsky's methods. Jeffrey Foote, a clinical psychologist and substance abuse expert, stated, "The velvet-glove confrontational stuff Pinsky does is what works for TV, but it's not what works for patients." The web site for Foote's Center for Motivation and Change uses a clip from Celebrity Rehab to demonstrate poor techniques. Foote added, "The dramatic confrontations seen on the show are actually more likely to drive less-severe substance abusers, who are by far the majority, away from seeking treatment." Critics also maintain that the patients' needs and the show's needs constitute a conflict of interest, with Dr. John J. Mariani, director of the Substance Treatment and Research Service at Columbia University stating, "The problem here is that Dr. Drew benefits from their participation, which must have some powerful effects on his way of relating to them. He also has a vested interest in the outcome of their treatment being interesting to viewers, which is also not in their best interest. Treatment with conflicts of interest isn’t treatment."[22]
Pinsky has responded to such criticism by saying his medical peers "don't understand television. You have to work within the confines of what executives will allow you to put on TV. Otherwise, we've not done anything, we've not really struggled to change the culture at all." Regarding the series airing on a network that broadcasts other reality shows featuring uncritical depictions of sexuality and alcohol as recurring themes, he aid, "The people that need what we have are watching VH1. Not the people watching educational TV, the NPR crowd. You gotta give 'em what they want so you can give ’em what they need."[28]
Defending the practice of paying addicts to attend rehab, producer John Irwin said, "Whatever it takes to get them through the door so they can start treatment—that's the goal."[9] Pinsky offered a similar response, saying, "My whole thing is bait and switch. Whatever motivates them to come in, that's fine. Then we can get them involved with the process."[28]
Despite the involvement of former Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr as well as an appearance by Nancy McCallum, mother of the original AIC singer Layne Staley, who died of an overdose in 2002, the remaining original members of AIC, guitarist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, have criticized the show, calling it "disgusting".[29] Kinney said of the program, "It exploits people at their lowest point, when they're not in their right mind, and the sad part is, this is like entertainment for people when it's actually a life and death situation. I don't think it helps anybody and it makes entertainment out of people's possible death, and that's pathetic and it's stupid."[30]
Columnist Drew Grant called for an end to the series because of its "warped sense of priorities", opining that the practice of assembling celebrities with serious drug addictions with others that, according to Grant, either do not suffer from addiction or whose addictions are self-diagnosed, like Rachel Uchitel and Gary Busey, for the purpose of creating entertainment, serves to encourage the "celebrity narcissism" that Pinsky himself has criticized.[31][32]
Not all substance-abuse specialists have been critical of the show. Dr. Mary Oxford, staff psychologist for the Menninger Clinic, praised it for removing the stigma surrounding addiction in the general public, and demystifying the process of treatment,[33] and showing the lay public the skill of reflective listening.[34]
| Cast member | Notability | Addiction |
|---|---|---|
| Seth "Shifty Shellshock" Binzer | Lead singer of rap rock band Crazy Town | Cocaine (powder and crack)[35] |
| Daniel Baldwin | Actor (Departed the show in episode four) | Cocaine[35] |
| Mary Carey | Porn actress and former candidate for California Governor | Alcohol[35] |
| Jeff Conaway | Actor | Alcohol; cocaine; painkillers (Vicodin, OxyContin, Xanax, Zoloft, Ambien)[35] |
| Jaimee Foxworth | Former child actress | Marijuana[35] |
| Joanie "Chyna" Laurer | Actress and former professional wrestler | Alcohol[35] |
| Brigitte Nielsen | Actress and former model | Alcohol[35] |
| Ricco Rodriguez | Mixed martial arts fighter and former UFC Heavyweight Champion | Cocaine; marijuana; benzodiazepines (Valium)[36] |
| Jessica Sierra | Singer and former American Idol contestant | Cocaine; alcohol[35] |
Sierra, Binzer, and Carey agreed to enter a transitional sober living home in the season finale. All three, as well as Laurer and Foxworth, would eventually relapse; some re-entered treatment. VH1 aired a reunion special detailing the patients' lives since filming. Although Conaway was able to maintain sobriety from alcohol and cocaine, he continued to abuse analgesics for his back pain, and would re-enter treatment in the show's second season. Binzer also appeared in several episodes of the second season for his relapses, as well as the Sober House spin-off series.
Laurer was hospitalized in December 2008 and was reportedly going back to rehab.[37]
Nielsen and Rodriguez have reportedly maintained their sobriety. Pinsky has said on numerous occasions that Nielsen has quit drinking and also gave up smoking.[9] Nielsen has also appeared on his radio shows to talk about her sobriety. In 2009, she appeared as a panel speaker to another group at the Pasadena Recovery Center, in which she anticipated the upcoming two-year mark of her sobriety that July, as seen in a third season episode of the series, which aired in February 2010.[38]
Sierra has tested "clean and sober" for a year and a half following a court-ordered year of treatment at the Pasadena Recovery Center,[39] She also appeared with Nielsen in the aforementioned third season episode, marking her 18 months of sobriety.[38]
The status of Baldwin's sobriety is unknown. As of May 2009, Foxworth is reportedly sober and gave birth to a son.[40]
Carey relapsed and returned to porn, starring in and directing a parody film called Celebrity Pornhab with Dr. Screw, a decision that Pinsky said saddened him.[41] Regarding her sobriety, Pinsky commented in a January 2010 TV Guide story, "She puts together, like, six weeks at a time of sobriety, then drifts away. We're trying to get her to stay with it once and for all."[9]
Season 2 of Celebrity Rehab premiered on October 23, 2008.
Pinsky saw musician Steven Adler as this season's "problem child", describing his behavior as "suicidal", and related that Adler had to be put into a psychiatric hospital for two weeks prior to going into rehab. Jeff Conaway was also a grave concern, according to Pinsky.[25]
Actor and recovering cocaine addict Gary Busey entered the program, claiming to do so not as a patient, but as a mentor to assist others in their recoveries. This was stated in his contract, and confirmed by VH1's official press release about Season 2.[42][43] Pinsky disputes this, however, stating, "I was confused too. But that's not my problem. My problem is that I've got a guy who needs help and I've got to figure out a way to get him into treatment. Gary [ends up having] a really inspirational experience. But it's a good 10 days before he comes around.[25]
| Cast member | Notability | Addiction |
|---|---|---|
| Steven Adler | Former Guns N' Roses drummer | Valium; alcohol; heroin; cocaine[44] |
| Seth Binzer | Singer, returning from Season 1 after Dr. Drew learned of his relapse | Stimulants (crack cocaine)[45] |
| Gary Busey | Actor | Recovering cocaine addict, clean and sober for 13 years, though Pinsky questions his current use of medicinal marijuana for his asthma.[44] He appears as a counselor to the other patients. (See above) |
| Jeff Conaway | Actor, returning from Season 1 following back surgeries that increased his painkiller addiction | Opiates (Oxycontin); cocaine[44] |
| Rodney King | Became a U.S. civil rights figure when videotaped in 1991 being beaten by L.A.P.D. officers, whose later acquittal sparked violent riots in L.A. | Alcohol[44] |
| Tawny Kitaen | Actress and former model | Painkillers (Demerol and Vicodin) and cocaine[44] |
| Nikki McKibbin | Singer and former American Idol contestant | Cocaine, alcohol, Adderall,[44] painkillers[46] (Vicodin[47]); (McKibbin was formerly addicted to ecstasy as well.[46]) |
| Amber Smith | Actress and model | Depressants and opiates (Adderall, Dexadrine, Valium, Xanax, Klonopin, Suboxone)[44] |
| Sean Stewart | Son of singer Rod Stewart.[43] | Alcohol; ecstasy; Vicodin; morphine; Fentanyl; cocaine; heroin[44] |
On October 1, 2008, rock band Alter Bridge, in conjunction with VH1, released a video for their single "Watch Over You" containing clips from the upcoming season of Celebrity Rehab.
Most of the celebrities (except for Kitaen, Busey and Stewart) agreed to make a transitional move into a sober living home which was filmed for Sober House– although Busey expressed interest in attending sober living as a speaker. Conaway was released early from the center during the final episode of Season 2 after kicking his girlfriend in the ribs during an argument. As soon as Conaway returned to his home, he continued abusing pain killers. During the course of Sober House, Adler, Smith and Binzer relapsed. Adler has made repeated appearances on Loveline talking about his success with sobriety and how his life is drastically different for the better. On September 26, 2009, Kitaen was arrested for drinking and driving.[48] Amber Smith later appeared in the spinoff Sex Rehab.
In 2009 Rodney King and Amber Smith appeared as panel speakers to a group of addicts at the Pasadena Recovery Center, marking 11 months of sobriety for King, and a year and a half of sobriety for Smith.[38] Nikki McKibbin marked a year of sobriety on June 10, 2009.[28]
On May 11, 2011 Jeff Conaway was hospitalized for pneumonia, for which he was placed in an induced coma.[49] He later died after being taken from life support on May 27, 2011.[50][51] He was the second Celebrity Rehab cast member to die in 2011, following the death of Mike Starr two months prior.[52] Pinsky attributed Conaway's death to his addiction, stating, "What happens is, like with most opiate addicts, eventually they take a little too much...and they aspirate, so what's in their mouth gets into their lungs...That's what happened with Jeff."[53]
On April 22, 2009, it was announced on the Futon Critic that Celebrity Rehab had been renewed for a third season and that a new spinoff titled Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew was being put into production.[54] Sex Rehab premiered on November 1, 2009. Season 3 of Celebrity Rehab premiered on January 7, 2010.[55]
Patient Heidi Fleiss was shown to be living in solitude in the wilderness of Nevada while caring for 25 parrots.[23][56][57][58] Pinsky did brain scans of her that showed significant frontal lobe dysfunction, which Pinsky theorized was behind her inability to empathize with people, and her affinity for doing so with birds.[23]
Actor Tom Sizemore had been approached to appear in Season 1, but declined. He met with Pinsky about appearing in the second season, sitting in Pinsky's office for two hours, as Pinsky tells it, "sweating and completely high on drugs, talking a million miles an hour, acting like he was going to do it then deciding he didn’t want to." He ultimately decided to appear in Season 3, but did not arrive in the season premiere with the others, forcing Pinsky's colleague Bob Forrest to seek him out. Pinsky adds in the season's fourth episode that he believes Sizemore's girlfriend is also a user, and that their relationship is a threat to his sobriety.[59] Pinsky points to Sizemore's story as emblematic of the difficulty of getting an addict to commit to rehab.[23] Because of the tumultuous prior relationship between patients Sizemore and Fleiss, their consent to being cast together during the same season was obtained prior to filming.[9]
Commenting on Dennis Rodman's detachment from the rehabilitation process, Pinsky said that Rodman was "hyper-focused in some ways, and in others, completely blank", and observed that Rodman didn't comprehend what the other patients were experiencing, or how they perceived him. Pinsky concluded that Rodman may have Asperger's syndrome, a diagnosis with which a colleague from UCLA Medical Center concurred.[9]
Mackenzie Phillips had accomplished several months of sobriety before checking into the Pasadena Recovery Center.[60]
Joey Kovar, who previously sought treatment for his addiction to cocaine and alcohol during his stint on 2008's The Real World: Hollywood,[61] was spurred to return to rehab for his recurring addiction by the impending birth of his and his girlfriend Nikki's[59] child.[62]
Pinsky commented on Lisa D'Amato by saying, "I would classify her as an addict in denial. This is the only disease you have to convince people they have."[60]
Following her ejection from Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew, Kari Ann Peniche was allowed back to the Pasadena Recovery Center after she called Pinsky and asked for help. Pinsky, who explains in this season's fourth episode that treatment for drug addiction must take place before treatment for sex addiction, revealed that her aggressive behavior during Sex Rehab was derived from drugs she smuggled in a teddy bear, and which were difficult to detect during drug testing because of the medication Peniche took for attention deficit disorder. Irwin says her behavior had changed by her second appearance, though she did punch a camera man at one point.[9]
| Cast member | Notability | Addiction |
|---|---|---|
| Lisa D'Amato | Model and electro rock musician[63] | Alcohol;[64][65] marijuana; amphetamines; cocaine; mushrooms[65] |
| Heidi Fleiss | Former American madam[63] | Methamphetamine;[64][65] Valium; Xanax; Vicodin (Fleiss states that she is coming off a prescription for Suboxone.)[65] |
| Joey Kovar | Cast member on The Real World: Hollywood[63] | Alcohol; cocaine; ecstasy;[64][65] methamphetamine; steroids[64] |
| Mindy McCready | Country music singer[63] | OxyContin; alcohol;[64][65] (McCready states that she takes prescription Xanax for anxiety as needed, and that the painkillers found among her belongings during Intake were for her shoulder, which was dislocated a month prior.[65]) |
| Kari Ann Peniche | Miss Teen USA 2002 and subject of a Playboy pictorial[63] | Methamphetamine[66] |
| Mackenzie Phillips | Actress[63] | Heroin; cocaine[64][65] (Formerly used marijuana.[65]) |
| Dennis Rodman | Former basketball player[63] | Alcohol[64][65] |
| Tom Sizemore | Actor[67] | Opiates; benzodiazepines; methamphetamine;[68] marijuana;[68][66] heroin; Klonopin (formerly used cocaine from 1991-1996)[66] |
| Mike Starr | Former Alice in Chains bass player[63] | Heroin; methadone; methamphetamine; cocaine; marijuana.[64][65] |
Peniche, Starr, Fleiss, Sizemore and Rodman all agreed to attend a sober living facility after treatment,[69] which was chronicled on the second season of Sober House.[70] Kovar indicated that he would get a sponsor, go to meetings, and go to sober living after his girlfriend moved into their new home. McCready, who cited the need to return to her son, indicated that she would go to Al-Anon.[69]
Since completing treatment, Pinsky says that D'Amato, who declined sober living, but agreed to go to meetings,[69] "seems pretty good to me. My bet is she'll continue to flirt with using, but will have a deeper understanding now of her behavior."[60]
Phillips and McCready appeared with Pinsky in a segment on women and addiction on the March 17, 2010 episode of The View.[71]
Mike Starr was arrested February 18, 2011 on two felony counts of possession of a controlled substance for 6 pills of the painkiller Opana and 6 pills of Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug.[72] Starr was later found dead on March 8, 2011 in Salt Lake City, Utah.[73]
D'Amato would later return to television following her recovery to compete in the 17th cycle of America's Next Top Model, deemed America's Next Top Model: All-Stars. D'Amato won the competition.
In May 2010, model and reality TV veteran Tila Tequila, who disclosed an addiction to prescription medication, was the first cast member announced for season four.[74] However, on July 12, it was announced that she withdrew from the cast.[75]
Filming on season four ended the week of August 1, 2010.[76] It began airing on December 1, 2010.[77][78]
On August 31, RadarOnline reported that Rachel Uchitel, who had been living at a sober living facility in Malibu, California, left the facility with Pinsky's permission in order to visit the World Trade Center site, where her fiance, James Andrew O'Grady, was killed during the September 11, 2001 attacks,[79] which Uchitel has explained was when her life began to unravel, culminating in a "massive breakdown" two years later. Uchitel spoke to other 9/11 families at the site, and was moved by her encounter with them.[80]
| Cast member | Notability | Addiction |
|---|---|---|
| Jason Davis | Actor, socialite[81] | Heroin; OxyContin; Xanax[82] |
| Janice Dickinson | Model, fashion photographer, actress, author and agent.[81] | Alcohol; cocaine (Dickinson says she formerly took Ativan, and that she takes one prescription Ambien a night to sleep.)[82] |
| Leif Garrett | Actor, singer, and TV commentator[81] | Cocaine; heroin[82] |
| Jeremy London | Actor, best known for his regular roles on Party of Five, 7th Heaven, and I'll Fly Away.[81] | Marijuana; painkillers[82] |
| Francine "Frankie" Lons | Star of the BET reality show Frankie & Neffe, and mother of singer Keyshia Cole.[81] | Alcohol; crack cocaine[82] |
| Eric Roberts | Actor, known for his Oscar-nominated performance in Runaway Train and TV shows such as Less Than Perfect and Heroes.[81] | Marijuana (Formerly used cocaine and a variety of psychotropic drugs such as Prozac.)[82] |
| Rachel Uchitel | Nightclub manager, correspondent for Extra, and one of Tiger Woods' mistresses.[81] | Alcohol; Opiates including Vicodin; benzodiazepines including Valium, Klonopin, and Xanax[82] |
| Jason Wahler | Reality television personality known as a second season cast member on Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County[81] | Alcohol[82] |
In a December 2010 interview in TV Guide, Pinsky stated that Dickinson was "doing so well", in stark contrast to her struggles documented during filming.[83] During the cast reunion show, Jason Davis claimed that he had relapsed twice but was currently sober. However, on January 27, 2011 he was arrested for drug possession and subsequently charged with felony possession and being under the influence of narcotics.[84][85]
On March 3, 2011, Amy Fisher, Jeremy Jackson, Bai Ling, Michael Lohan and Michaele Salahi were announced as fifth season participants.[86][87] Subsequent cast members added to the season roster later that month include Season 2 participant Steven Adler,[88][87] actress Sean Young,[89][87] former Major League Baseball pitcher Dwight Gooden[90][87] and Survivor second runner-up Jessica "Sugar" Kiper.[91] Michaele Salahi was later removed from the show because, according to TMZ sources, she harbored "no addiction," and thus had "no reason to be there."[92][93] Season 5 premiered on June 26, 2011, though a "Sneak Premiere" was made available on Vh1's website as early as June 22.[21]
| Cast member | Notability | Addiction |
|---|---|---|
| Steven Adler | Former Guns N' Roses drummer, returning from season 2 | Marijuana[17] |
| Amy Fisher | "Long Island Lolita" who shot her then-lover Joey Buttafuoco's wife, Mary Jo, in the face. | Alcohol[94] (She was stated in the season premiere to have suffered prior addiction to unspecified pills,[95] but this was indicated to be an ongoing problem in in a season finale bonus clip.[96]) |
| Dwight Gooden | Former Major League Baseball pitcher. | Cocaine; alcohol; Ambien[17] |
| Jeremy Jackson | Actor, best known for his role on Baywatch as Hobie Buchannon. | Steroids[94] |
| Jessica Kiper | Actress and television personality, best known for appearing twice as a contestant on Survivor. | Alcohol; marijuana; cocaine (former user); opiates, particularly Vicodin; benzodiazepines including Valium and Xanax[18] |
| Bai Ling | Actress. | Alcohol[94] |
| Michael Lohan | Father of actress Lindsay Lohan. | Alcohol (formerly used cocaine, but quit six years prior)[94] |
| Sean Young | Actress.[97] | Alcohol[94] |
Celebrity Rehab has been released on DVD exclusively through Amazon.[98]
| Season | Release date | Discs |
| 1 | 21 August 2008 | 4[98] |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 4 March 2010[98] | |
| 3 | 29 March 2010 |